“>nearly everyone reporting stomach pains. However, there are only eleven reviews for the product, so we’re wondering how many people have actually tried the new Centrum and suffered for it. Anyone here?
health
FDA Report Cites 49 Safety Issues At Merck Vaccine Plant
By 4.28.08
Between November of last year and this past January, the FDA “cited 49 areas of concern, including a failure to follow good manufacturing practices” at Merck & Co. Inc’s vaccine plant in Pennsylvania. A Merck spokesman says that most of the incidents were found and reported by Merck’s own employees, and that they occurred in the manufacturing process, not the vaccines themselves: “He stressed that no contamination was found in finished vaccines and that Merck was addressing all the problems.”
Patients Of Botched LASIK Surgery Urge FDA To Step In
By 4.25.08
Our beloved fatherteacher Ben Popken seems just fine with his newly lasered eyes, but not everyone sees such great results, says Reuters: “Blurred vision, dry eyes, glare and double-vision have led to depression and in some cases suicide, several patients told a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel.” These patients want the FDA to take a more active role in regulating the LASIK industry (currently the FDA regulates the equipment but not the people who use it).
Glaxo Buys Aging Retardation Drug Company
By 4.24.08
GlaxoSmithKline is buying a U.S. biotechnology company that is researching resveratrol, the chemical compound found in red wine that may retard the aging process. The CEO of the company says that “drugs that mimic resveratrol, by activating enzymes called sirtuins, could ‘treat in a safe, natural new way, many of the major killers of western society.'” We can’t wait to see the commercials that GSK puts out for this one.
Recalled Heparin Contaminant Confirmed, And Congress Grills FDA On Inspections
By 4.24.08
Researchers have identified the chemical in the contaminated blood thinner Heparin that killed 81 people in the U.S. and made patients here and in Europe sick:The researchers freeze-dried the heparin and used a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and liquid chromatography-mass…
Should Companies Replace BPA Baby Products In The U.S.?
By 4.24.08
There’s nothing official about BPA in the U.S. (yet), and there’s no legal reason (again, yet) for a company to refund or replace any products that have BPA in them.
By 4.23.08
../../../..//2008/04/23/brita-wants-you-to-keep/
Brita wants you to keep paying $6-$10 for their disposable water filters, but here’s a way to refill your own for $.50. [Instructables]
UnitedHealth Unapproves Surgery From 2 Years Ago, Wants $7700 Back
By 4.23.08
United Health Care, not content with merely denying life saving cancer procedures or refusing to pay for basic (covered!) checkups, took things to a new level by retroactively un-approving procedures they paid for in 2005. They sent reader Suzanne a letter and a bill for $7700, claiming the pay-out was an “administrative error”, and she needed to pay up. Check out the details, inside.
Jury Says 'Up Yours' To Rectal Exam Lawsuit
By 4.22.08
Remember Brian Persaud, the Brooklyn construction worker who tried to sue a New York hospital for performing a by-the-books rectal exam on him in 2003? On Monday, a Manhattan jury tossed his lawsuit, claiming he failed to show he suffered assault and battery.
You Can Still Join A Fen-Phen Class Action Lawsuit
By 4.22.08
This lady started taking Fen-Phen and lost 30 lbs, but now she’s got high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and swollen legs, possibly indicative of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), the negative side effect American Home Products (now known as Wyeth) were successfully sued for upwards of $14 billion. When she called Wyeth, they told her that she had “waited too long” to file a lawsuit. However, the 2006 Fen-Phen settlement actually has a clause that says there’s no statute of limitations on filing a claim. Therefore, you can still join a class action lawsuit against them. Also goes to show you that calling up the customer service department probably isn’t the best route to take if you’re looking for objective information about suing that company…
Canada May Become First Country To Classify BPA Toxic
By 4.16.08
Canada is about to become the first country to declare bisphenol-a (BPA)—used in baby bottles, drink containers, and as a liner in cans—a toxic chemical, reports the New York Times. An anonymous source has said that the work by Canada’s chemical review program to list BPA as a toxic chemical “was complete and was recently endorsed by a panel of outside scientists.” The announcement is expected any time between today and the end of May.
Oxford Tweaks Rules So It Can Double Your Monthly CoPay
By 4.16.08
Kristine writes:
Oxford healthcare recently updated its policy to read that no dosages of prescriptions exceeding 31 days would be processed. In the case of a patient receiving injectable solution, this may mean that their reconstitution device will give them 18 days of dosing, meaning that they will have to pay two copayments per month in order to receive ample supply of their medication…
Make More Money by Getting Plastic Surgery?
By 4.12.08
Without a doubt, your career is your most important financial asset. As such, most financial experts will suggest you should do all you can to make the most of it and maximize your compensation. But is there a limit to what you can and should do to make more money? Blogger Penelope Trunk cites a new book that says good-looking people make more money than not-so-good-looking people. And well they should. The facts suggest that good-looking people make more for their companies and thus deserve higher pay…
Widow Sues Petsmart For Selling Killer Hamster
By 4.11.08
In 2005, Petsmart sold a woman a hamster infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, or LCMV. The woman died of a stroke, and her liver was transplanted into Thomas Magee. He subsequently contracted LCMV and died from complications. His widow is now suing Petsmart. According to MSNBC, the lawsuit claims that “two other people who received organs from this woman died and one became seriously ill.”
Drugs In The Water No Big Deal, Says NYC Official
By 4.8.08
In regards to a headline grabbing AP investigation that found the drinking water of major cities contained trace amounts of an array of pharmacopoeia, the deputy commissioner of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, “A person would have to drink one million glasses of water to get the dose of even one over-the-counter ibuprofen tablet or the caffeine in one cup of coffee…Even at eight glasses of water per day, this would take the average person over 300 years to consume.” So for those of you hoping to replace your medicine cabinet just by draining the Brita, sorry Charlie. However, there are no studies on the long-term effects to human of small exposure to a vast array of drugs, although, the Times notes, they have been shown to cause mutations in fish.
Lawsuits Claim Insurers Are Choking Social Security With Unnecessary Disability Applications
By 4.3.08
Two whistleblower lawsuits have been filed recently against insurers, faulting them for requiring unnecessary and repeated disability applications with Social Security before they’ll pay out any benefits. One person says her disability insurer, the Unum Group—which was only paying her $50 a month for a temporary injury she was almost certain to recover from—called her 10 times to ask her about her Social Security disability application. The woman told the New York Times “she did not need or want money from Social Security, and did not think she was entitled to it. Her doctors had told her she would recover, and Social Security is limited to people whose disabilities are total and permanent.”
Suburban Chicago Hospital Will Close After Being Crushed By Too Many Uninsured Patients
By 4.3.08
In a stunning development underscoring the plight of non-profit hospitals struggling with the increase in uninsured patients, the Catholic ownership of St. Francis Hospital & Health Center on Wednesday said it will shutter the hospital because nobody would buy it.
San Francisco Orders Restaurants To Display Calorie Information, Industry Laughs
By 3.30.08
San Francisco passed a resolution last week requiring chain restaurants to display calorie information on their menus, but the industry couldn’t care less. They will continue fattening us up like gingerbread cash-cows, regardless of whatever regulations pitiful municipalities hurl their way.
